Senate Banking Committee Approves Administration’s HUD Nominees

The Senate Banking Committee voted during executive session July 27 to approve the nominations of six Trump Administration nominees for positions in the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Treasury, and Commerce.

The nominees were Paul Compton, to be HUD General Counsel; Anna Farias, to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity; Neal Rackleff, to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development; Christopher Campbell, to be Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Financial Institutions; Richard Ashooh, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration; and Elizabeth Erin Walsh, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service.

The Committee approved the nominations of Campbell, Ashooh, and Walsh unanimously by voice votes. After voting by voice vote on the Compton nomination, Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) declared that he had heard more "aye" than "nay" votes, causing Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to ask for a recorded vote. The recorded vote was 15-7, with three Democrats joining all of the Republicans in favor of the nomination. The Committee then approved Farias and Rackleff by voice vote.

Brown and Housing Subcommittee Ranking Member Robert Menendez (D-NJ) both made statements at the conclusion of the voting to explain their reluctance to approve the Administration’s nominees for HUD, particularly Compton. The Senators said they had concerns about Compton’s written and oral responses to the Committee’s questions about his dedication to implementing the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule.